Well, the fall tog season commenced, stripers are slowly showing up and the wind kicked up… a lot. So much so that most of the weekend trips were cancelled or abbreviated. But not to worry, as some folks got out and beat the wind and accompanying waves. There was also a very rare fish, at least for these parts, that was caught not too far from here. Let’s get started.
Tammie at Avalon Hodge Podge casts off first with the word a lot of people have been waiting for. Striped bass are starting to show up in the local surf and back waters. The large schools are still off of Atlantic City, but the southern edge of those fish are starting to arrive.
Tog fishing continues to be strong, plus the bag limit increased to six. That’s a good combination. They are being caught from the Townsends Inlet Bridge, 8th Street Jetty, and local reefs and wrecks. Green crabs or clams are the best offerings.
The shop is scheduled to put a wrap on the 2017 season by closing on Nov. 25.
Thank you to Tammie and crew for faithfully sending in reports and pictures during the season. We look forward to working with you in 2018.
The Miss Avalon got started on the tog season on Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately, Saturday and Sunday got blown away, as has happened all around the area for many boats. Winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour have a way of doing that.
The opening day of Thursday saw them hitting some inshore spots and bringing in some nice fish in good numbers. Friday had “great” fishing. The west wind of that day was “easy to fish in.” Chuck, an angler and employee of the Division of Fish and Wildlife, limited out with six “jumbo blackfish.” The Donnelly brothers, who fished Thursday and Friday, had “two great trips in a row.”
The Miss Avalon headed out on Saturday targeting tog, but the trip was cut short as the wind and waves made for a difficult duo to overcome. The bait was rising and falling in unison with the boat. You want your bait to be on the bottom, as this increases your chances for a hookup. When that happened, combined with the muddy, stirred up water, it was a sign that returning to the dock was the best option.
The current leader in the “Togzilla” competition is Bud “Tog” Callahan who caught a six-pound, 11-ounce specimen. This is a contest between the anglers to see who can catch the largest tog of that particular season.
Fishin’ Fever Sportfishing Charters seems to be enjoying its temporary Atlantic City home. On opening day of the blackfish season, Captain Tom was on them. The final tally shows 31 keepers with weights to seven pounds. He also reported “lots of short life” which bodes well for the future.
For variety, he went striper fishing the next day. They boated a limit of “unders” (fish in the regulated 28- to 43-inch range of which you can keep one per angler) and also “released a bunch more.” Tom also mentioned that there were “big blues around as well.”
From their current Barnegat Light base, Libation Charters from Cape May has been reporting multiple successful trips for their striper charters. The Thursday before the big blow saw a four-man charter limit out on “unders” while releasing 18 more. Friday’s trip had seven “unders,” eight released fish and four bluefish. Early Saturday was good as another boat limit of “unders” was caught, while only three needed to be released. Then “the wind came up and our bite died off.” Good thing they caught those early fish. Borrowing from the early bird and the worm, I guess that the early bait gets the fish. Are you asking what happened on Sunday? Well to quote Bob Dylan, the answer is “Blowin’ in the wind.”
Captain Skip at Stalker Fishing Charters is still hitting the backwater. He found success there on Friday, Nov. 17, as he ran into a “pocket of fish” that were more than happy to hit whatever he offered. He still is running the skiff in the back, but will soon switch over to the bigger boat that is based in Ocean City. He plans on hitting the stripers from there as the leading edge moves down our way. Call (609) 972-5218 to see what trips he’s offering and where he plans to depart from.
Just after I finished the most recent column, I received word of an unusual catch made off of Ocean City, Md.
While out fishing, the crew of the Primary Search boated a swordfish. Alright, nothing unusual there, and no reason to anticipate anything out of the ordinary. Then, a little later, the surprise arrived in the form of a 105.4-pound opah, also known as a moonfish. A what, you ask? Well, here’s a quick background.
This is a deep-water pelagic fish most commonly seen in the Pacific Ocean, although they do occur elsewhere. They are warm-blooded and circulate that blood through their entire body. Some sharks and tuna can circulate warm blood to certain body parts, but not their entire body. They are rarely caught by fishermen, and like this one, are a bycatch caught while other fish are the real targets. They have a bright reddish/orange colored body, accented by a silvery color. They are also good to eat. A side-view of their body reveals a disc-shape that is much taller than it is thick. The best way to picture it would be is if a flounder swam on its edge, not its belly. Make it much larger, give it a much rounder body, have one eye on each side, a large pectoral and dorsal fin, plus a big tail, and you have a good idea of what you would see.
This fish isn’t what you would call a regular in our vicinity, but if you catch something that fits this description, you now have a good idea what it is. And don’t forget to get in touch with me.
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday and took advantage of any opportunity they had to go fishing. Get out and catch some tog, a striper or maybe an opah (that’s a longshot). Anyway, enjoy the fall fishing here at the Cape.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
